


Alien

by TuppingLiberty



Series: TLIB FFC 2021- original works [9]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Aliens, Injury, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sharing Body Heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:29:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29440473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TuppingLiberty/pseuds/TuppingLiberty
Summary: FFC day 9: AlienFeaturing a lonely wildfire lookout, his dog, and a stranger with black blood and silver eyes.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: TLIB FFC 2021- original works [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138628
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11
Collections: February Ficlet Challenge 2021: Apocalypse No





	Alien

The stranger arrives after a particularly stormy night. Ren’s in his tower, but luckily there’s no telltale whispers of smoke from dry lightning strikes. He’s radioing in an all-clear to the forestry station when he sees it: something metallic reflecting in his eyes, maybe a half-mile off. 

He climbs down the tower and whistles for Dusty. The Bernese mountain dog mutt bounds up to him, a face full of mischief. “And what have you been getting into this morning, hmm? Chasing all the rabbits away again?” 

Dusty gives him a playful yip, then quiets down when Ren grabs his service gun from his locker inside the small shack and straps it to his hip. He doesn’t get trouble often, maybe once a season out here; at least, trouble in human form. Whoever’s out there is way, way off the beaten path. 

He’s just about where he thought he saw the metallic glare when he practically stumbles over the body. Like- like the body hadn’t been there, in that form, thirty seconds ago but had only formed when he’d stumbled over it. Weird. He rights himself, turns to see Dusty’s face in the stranger’s, sniffing and licking. His heart beats again when he sees the stranger’s chest move. At least it’s not a dead body he has to deal with. 

But something is definitely wrong with the stranger. For one, it’s freezing out here, one of those sunny winter days that isn’t going to get above zero, and the stranger is definitely naked, his fingers and toes starting to go red. Ren frowns. If he’s been out here all night, he should be way colder, but it’s like he just- just appeared. 

For another, the stranger is covered in a weird black substance, like he’s been working as a mechanic but, like, really messily. And naked, has Ren mentioned that fact? 

And definitely not awake. 

“Come on, Dusty, stop bothering him. He doesn’t want to wake up to a faceful of snoot.” Ren boops him on the snoot, anyway, because he can, and because he’s a good, good dog. Sighing, lifting with his legs, he gets his arms wrapped around the stranger, picks him up in a firefighter carry, and starts taking him off to the shack. 

“Okay, first order of business is warmth.” The stranger is still asleep, but Ren talks to him, because Ren is used to talking to no one. He stays out here for months at a time, with just Dusty for company. 

He dresses the stranger up in a spare set of clothes, making sure to tug on heavy wool socks and his best mittens, pulling a beanie down over his black locks. He’s certainly...handsome, Ren has to admit. Scruffy, like a hipster now with the beanie on. The kind of five o’clock shadow that makes Ren want to bite, scrape over skin with his teeth and feel the burn. 

Ren blinks, his face growing hot as he zips his sleeping bag up around the stranger, then whistles Dusty over to lay on him. Dusty’ll get him warmer faster than Ren ever could. While Dusty does his hard work, rolling up into a cinnamon bun and sighing like he’s being tasked with the most difficult task ever, Ren works on getting some fresh water warming so he can start cleaning the stranger off and checking for injuries. 

The first - okay, maybe like fifth - sign that something is very, ahem, _strange_ with the stranger is that when Ren goes to start cleaning the sticky black stuff off of his forehead, it’s all connected to a large gash. Like...like the sticky black stuff is his _blood_ or something. Ren blinks, blinks again, and his brain says, “No, that’s red,” but it’s _not_ red, it’s _black_ and it’s _very disorienting that his brain is telling him it’s red._

He gets distracted by this because the stranger finally opens his eyes, and Ren’s fairly sure his jaw drops. The stranger’s eyes are _silver,_ that same metallic glow he’d seen from the lookout tower. And then Ren blinks, and no, they’re grey, and-

Ren backs up, not that he can go far in the tiny shack. “Okay- okay, what the fuck.” 

Reacting to his distress, Dusty whines, looking back and forth between the stranger and Ren like he doesn’t know where his loyalty should lay. _Traitor._

“You’re an alien.” 

The stranger - alien - cocks his head, sitting up, but getting caught in the sleeping bag and floundering. It’s such a funny sight that Ren can’t help but snort, then let out a full laugh, the tension in the room deflating as he steps closer and unzips the bag to let the alien free. 

“You’re an alien,” he repeats, feeling more sure and less intimidated now. 

There’s a processing in the alien’s gray-silver eyes, and then the alien nods, slowly, like it doesn’t know quite how to use this body. 

“Yes, I...am,” the alien says haltingly. 

“You speak English?” 

The alien hesitates, then lifts, tapping his ear. There’s something in there, like a hearing aid, Ren realizes. “Translator?” 

“...Yes...I am...sorry...new words...take time.” 

Ren waves it off. “Don’t worry about it. English is hard enough to learn when you’re from this planet. Do you have a name I can call you?” 

“Name…yes...um...you can call...Shasta.” 

Ren’s brow furrows. “That’s the name of where we are, right now. The forest, I mean.” 

“We...take...the names of...where we are sent.” 

“So you don’t have a... _you_ name?” 

Shasta blinks at him, then shrugs. The human gesture makes Ren’s heart soften. 

“Do you know _why_ you were sent here? Don’t tell me we’re about to be invaded and you’re warning us or something.” Ren laughs nervously. 

Shasta shakes his head. “I do not...remember.” 

“Yeah, given that bump you took to your head, I’m not surprised.” Ren scoots a little closer with his warm rag, dabbing at the black-oil blood slowly welling up over the gash on his forehead. 

Shasta catches his wrist. “Name? Your name?” 

“Oh, I’m Ren, and this is Dusty.”

Dusty gives a playful little yelp. 

“We are...safe? Here? Can I stay until I am...healed?”

“You’re safe here, yeah. As long as we avoid the wildlife and wildfire, we’re good. I’ll have to radio something in so that we can get enough supplies so we don’t starve out here, but I’ll figure it out. Can’t exactly tell them you showed up from the stars or they’ll have us both committed.” 

Shasta runs his thumb over the skin of Ren’s wrist, making Ren’s heart beat a little faster. “Thank...you...Ren.” His eyes flash silver, enough that now Ren knows he hadn’t been imagining it earlier. 

“You’re welcome, Shasta. Rest up now. I’ll make us some rations later, if you’re feeling up to eating.” 

Shasta wiggles back down in the sleeping bag, smiling a little when Ren zips him back in. “Is this...a prison?”

Ren can tell Shasta is making a joke, which makes Ren huff a laugh under his breath. “Behold, Earth technology, the zipper.” He zips and unzips it a few times for Shasta to see, until he looks up to see Shasta’s eyelids drooping. “Go to sleep now. You’re safe.” 

With a smile gracing his handsome lips, Shasta’s eyes close, and his body relaxes. 

_Well...what the fuck do I do now?_ Ren wonders as he absently pets through Dusty’s long fur.

**Author's Note:**

> A fun one I can see myself writing more of!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated.


End file.
